The country’s foreign exchange reserves crossed $25bn mark yesterday, setting a new record.
“Forex reserves reached a new height, thanks to the stable inflow of remittance and export growth,” said Kazi Sayedur Rahman, general manager of Forex Reserves and Treasury Management Department of Bangladesh Bank.
The reserves, which had earlier crossed $24bn mark for the first time in April this year, are currently strong enough to meet the country’s import bills for seven months.
Foreign-exchange reserves also surged over $23bn in February and in March.
Currently, Bangladesh is ranked second in South Asia in forex reserves, right behind India.
Stable remittance inflow is considered to be the major contributor to the recent reserves hike.
Remittance inflow in Bangladesh is expected to see a record rise this year in the wake of recent reopening of labour market by Saudi Arabia and global economic recovery, says a World Bank report.
Shedding a negative trend for more than a year, remittance inflow in the country rebounded from the middle-eastern countries in the last nine months, thanks to the reopening of manpower market for Bangladeshi workers in some Gulf nations after seven years.
Remittance inflow rose by 7.6% in the first nine months of current fiscal year.
During the same period in last fiscal year, the country experienced a fall of 13% in remittance earning.
The country received a remittance of $6.68bn in July to March of 2014-15 fiscal year from the gulf countries compared to $6.21bn in the same period of 2013-14 fiscal year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.